Docudrama


A cinematic and television subgenre that aims to present a fictionalized account of real people and/or actual events. Essentially, this form blends the heightened emotional conventions and traditional narrative structure of dramatic fiction with the convincing didactic tone of the documentary in an attempt to capture accurate portrayals of historical and social events. In a search for authenticity, filmmakers often hire real people involved in the portrayed incidents as on-set consultants. One of the subgenre's first and finest examples, In Cold Blood, not only used consultants but shot many scenes in the actual town and the homes of the real people involved. Despite this agenda, numerous docudramas employ poetic license and manipulate facts for visceral entertainment purposes -- a practice many documentaries also indulge in. Typically, the subject matter of a docudrama revolves around tragedy or mystery surrounding death (Reversal of Fortune, Silkwood). Because of this criteria, docudrama crossed over from the screen to the television, where the form has been adopted repeatedly to capitalize on high-profile news stories, twisting them into often-dubious TV-movies-of-the-week. Cinematically, much like documentary film, the form of the docudrama continued to loosen. JFK and The Thin Blue Line, films that openly acknowledged fictional manipulation, pushed for other subjective, artistic interpretations of once-concrete terms like "authenticity" and "truth" when it comes to the filmic presentation of reality.

Featured Films:
Frost/NixonThe Children of Huang ShiThe SoloistThe Edge of LoveThe Bank JobFlash of Genius

RatingMPAAYearTitle
R2008Frost/Nixon
R2008The Children of Huang Shi
PG132008The Soloist
R2008Fifty Dead Men Walking
R2008The Edge of Love
R2008The Bank Job
PG132008Flash of Genius
PG132008American Violet
PG132007Breach
R2007Into the Wild
PG132007The Flying Scotsman
2007Zoo
2007Rise of the Footsoldier
NR2007Death Instinct
NR2007Death Defying Acts
R2007Charlie Wilson's War
R2007Trade
PG2007Pride
NR2007Savage Grace
R2007A Mighty Heart
R2007The Girl Next Door
R2007Battle in Seattle
R2007Zodiac
R2007The Hoax
NR2007Battle for Haditha
R2006United 93
PG132006World Trade Center
R2006The Road to Guantanamo
PG2006We Are Marshall
R2006Alpha Dog
R2006Find Me Guilty
PG132006Miriam
R2006The Last King of Scotland
R2006Bobby
PG2006Glory Road
PG132006Flight 93
PG2006Believe in Me
R2006Chapter 27
PG132006The Queen
PG132006Rescue Dawn
PG132005Coach Carter
R2005The Notorious Bettie Page
R2005Syriana
2005Sometimes in April
2005Warm Springs
PG2005The Game of Their Lives
R2005Munich
2005Human Trafficking

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